MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Coronavirus Delta variant claims first two fatalities in Brazil

A 42-year-old pregnant woman died but her baby could be saved

The Government of Brazil Monday announced the occurrence of the first two deaths due to the coronavirus Delta variant.

The first case was that of a 42-year-old pregnant woman from Apucarana, a city in the interior of the southern state of Paraná, which borders Argentina and Paraguay. She died on April 18 after arriving in Brazil on April 5, from Japan. The woman tested positive for covid-19 in April and died April 18, prompting an emergency Caesarean surgery to save the baby, who stayed hospitalized until a full discharge on June 18.

At least two other people tested positive for the Indian variant in Paraná, while there are more than 500 cases under genome analysis.

Meanwhile, an Indian sailor who arrived into the country as a member of a merchant ship's crew in May died on Saturday in a private clinic in Sao Luiz, capital of the northeastern state of Maranhao.

Other sailors have landed in Brazil carrying the Delta strain, it was reported.

The first case of community transmission of this strain was registered this month in the state of Goias, central west of the country, bordering Brasilia. Other positive cases of this lineage, also known as B.1.617, were detected in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.

Brazil has reached 18,417,113 cases since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, with a rate of 70,103 new daily detections, a 5% increase compared to 14 days ago.

On a brighter note, the number of daily deaths fell 16% to 725 Sunday from an all-time high of 1,661 and for a total of 513,544 deceased, according to news reports.

Brazil is to receive this Tuesday a donation from Ireland of 47,520 doses of the anaesthetic drug Atracurium, which makes up the so-called intubation kit for patients infected by Covid-19. The shipment is due to land at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos airport.

According to a Brazilian Foreign Ministry statement, “the initiative is part of the Brazilian government's health diplomacy policy, which greatly appreciates Irish solidarity,” which “reflects the fruitful relations between the two countries.”